--- title: HB 39. Habersham County; Magistrate Court; authorize assessment and collection of technology fee collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb39 cite_as: HB 39, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb39 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb39.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb39/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69335 date: 2025-04-30 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb38.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb40.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 880 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb39.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 39 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-04-30 last_action: Effective Date 2025-04-30 sponsors: - Victor Anderson - Chris Erwin text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB39/2025 upstream_id: 1919212 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - court fees - Habersham County - local legislation - court technology --- # HB 39. Habersham County; Magistrate Court; authorize assessment and collection of technology fee ## Text 25 LC 47 3126/AP House Bill 39 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Anderson of the 10th and Erwin of the 32nd A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the assessment, collection, and distribution of a technology fee by the1 Magistrate Court of Habersham County; to identify the authorized uses of such technology2 fee; to provide for the maintenance of such technology fee fund s; to provide for the3 termination of such technology fee and dedication of residual funds to technology uses; to4 provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal a specific Act; to repeal5 conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 (a) The clerk of the Magistrate Court of Habersham County shall be entitled to charge and9 collect a technology fee to be set by the chief magistrate in an amount not to exceed $10.0010 for the filing of each civil action or proceeding with the court and not to exceed $10.00 as11 a surcharge upon each fine assessed by the court. Such technol ogy fees shall be used12 exclusively to provide for the technological needs of the Magis trate Court of Habersham13 County. Such uses shall include only the following:14 (1) Computer hardware and software purchases;15 (2) Lease, maintenance, and installation of computer hardware and software;16 H. B. 39 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3126/AP (3) Purchase, lease, maintenance, and installation of audio-vi sual, imaging, scanning,17 facsimile, communications, recording, projection, and printing equipment and software;18 (4) Purchase or lease of data storage;19 (5) Purchase of local or remote technological support services and equipment which may20 be used to connect to cellular radio systems, remote internet, and any other remote access21 system;22 (6) Lease, purchase, maintenance, and installation of platform s, user agreements, and23 licenses for online, remote or cloud based document storage platforms; and24 (7) Cybersecurity insurance.25 (b) The funds collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a segregated account26 by the clerk of the Magistrate Court of Habersham County and sh all be used only for the27 purposes authorized in this section.28 (c) The authority to assess a technology fee pursuant to this section shall terminate on July 1,29 2044, and any funds remaining in the fund established by this section shall remain dedicated30 to general Habersham County technology uses.31 SECTION 2.32 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law33 without such approval.34 SECTION 3.35 An Act to authorize the assessment, collection, and distribution of a technology fee by the36 Magistrate Court of Habersham County, approved April 22, 2024 (Ga. L. 2024, p. 3614), is37 hereby repealed in its entirety.38 SECTION 4.39 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.40 H. B. 39 - 2 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. House Bill 39 lets the Magistrate Court of Habersham County charge a technology fee of up to $10 on civil filings and fines to pay for court technology, replacing a similar 2024 law. ### Plain-language summary This bill authorizes the clerk of the Magistrate Court of Habersham County to charge and collect a technology fee, set by the chief magistrate, of up to $10.00 for filing a civil case and up to $10.00 as a surcharge on fines the court imposes. The money must be kept in a separate account and can only be spent on specific technology needs, such as computer hardware and software, audio-visual and recording equipment, data storage, remote access and cybersecurity tools, and cloud storage licenses. The fee authority ends on July 1, 2044, and any money left in the fund at that point stays dedicated to general Habersham County technology uses. The bill also repeals an earlier 2024 law that set up a similar fee, effectively replacing it, and takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it becomes law without his signature. ### What it does - Authorizes the Magistrate Court of Habersham County to charge up to $10.00 for filing a civil case and up to $10.00 as a surcharge on court fines. - Restricts use of the collected fees to a defined list of technology purchases, including computers, software, recording and imaging equipment, data storage, and cybersecurity insurance. - Requires the clerk to keep the fee revenue in a segregated account separate from other court funds. - Sets an end date of July 1, 2044 for the fee, after which leftover funds must stay dedicated to general county technology uses. - Repeals a 2024 Georgia law (Ga. L. 2024, p. 3614) that previously set up a similar Habersham County technology fee. ### Who it affects People who file civil cases in the Magistrate Court of Habersham County and people who are fined by that court, since both would pay the new technology fee. It also affects the court clerk's office, which must collect and separately account for the funds. ### Why it matters Litigants and defendants in Habersham County's Magistrate Court would pay a small added cost, up to $20 combined, when filing a case or paying a fine. In exchange, the court gains a dedicated funding source for computers, security, and other equipment through 2044. ### Key provisions - Section 1(a) sets the fee cap at $10.00 for civil filings and $10.00 as a surcharge on fines, with the exact amount set by the chief magistrate. - Section 1(a) lists seven permitted technology uses, including hardware, software, audio-visual equipment, data storage, remote access support, cloud document platforms, and cybersecurity insurance. - Section 1(b) requires the fee revenue to be kept in a segregated account used only for the authorized purposes. - Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2044 and dedicates any remaining funds to general county technology uses. - Section 2 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without approval. - Section 3 repeals the prior 2024 Habersham County technology fee law in its entirety. - Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-30) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-04-30 (2025-04-30) - Sponsors: Victor Anderson, Chris Erwin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69335 > The history, votes, and amendments (880 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb39.md?full=1